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Wednesday, October 22, 2014

My dear Internet and real life friend Tessa (you may know
her as The Sewing Chick), tagged me in the around the world blog hop. Tessa is
the best. Three things about Tessa before I start: (1) She has the BEST sense
of style, this lady can combine some fabrics to make it her own. (2) She is an
immaculate and precise seamstress (sewer? sewist?). You know she knows what she
is doing and if you need help with something, she knows how to do it and
probably has some tricks. She taught me the best way to put on binding.
Seriously the best. (3) She is hilarious and adorable. I am proud to call her
my friend.

So as I understand it, I am supposed to answer some
questions about myself and give you some insight into my soul or something like
that.

Let’s start with the basic stats. I am 29 years old. I live
in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I have been married to my best friend for a
little over 4 years and we have been together for over 10 years. He is a fabric
purchase enabler, a photo shoot assistant, quilt namer, great cook, plays
hockey, historian, and super hero (at least to me).

I grew up in Portland, Oregon, lived in Denver for six
years. I love the east coast, but I secretly miss the mountains, gray skies,
and skiing in Oregon.

For my day job, I am an archaeologist. It is not glamorous
and I do not have a whip or fedora. I do travel a ton and sometimes I bring a
sewing machine. My specialty in my field is really obscure and techy.

I learned to sew when I was super little. My best friend’s
mom made all of her outerwear and I was so jealous. I distinctly remember a
raincoat with a cat patch on it that was handed down to me that I wore OUT.
Fortunate for me, Susan was happy to teach, although I was not a patient
student. I also joined sewing 4-H in middle school, where a very patient woman
taught me and one other girl basically everything I know today. Sometimes I
wonder how she is doing and if her little daughter grew up to love sewing with
the passion she instilled in me.

I basically forgot about all sewing until graduate school
when my friend was trying to make something with her new sewing machine and I
surprised everyone (myself included) by jumping in and showing her how do
everything (she did not know how to sew). Apparently, I did not forget
anything.

I got a sewing machine from my parents for Christmas after I
graduated. I made my first quilt while Derek was in Germany doing dissertation
research. I started my second quilt almost immediately and I have not stopped quilting since.

What is my style?

I don’t know. I like color and pattern. I make quilts with
patterns and without. I often start a quilt without doing any math and remain
unconcerned with the results until the end. I rarely buy fabric for a project,
but instead I spend way too much time cultivating my stash. I love traditional
patterns and, I guess, I tend to approach them from a “modern” slant.
Sometimes, I just get an idea and go for it. At the end of the day we are all
quilters and I try not to take myself too seriously. My dream project is to
make a quilt with a giant cat on it, made out of cat fabrics I have collected
over the years. I am putting that out here because I trust you, my friends, to
not steal that idea.

What are you working on now?

I just finished an epic binding marathon, so I should have
some new things to share here soon. As far as actually working on, I have two
quilts all basted and ready to quilt (soon, very soon). I have my paint chip
quilt that I am quilting. Otherwise, most of
my other projects exist in only my head right now.

What is my favorite project?

Hands down my clamshell. I pretty much always love my latest
finish the most of anything, but finishing my Pink Chowder quilt taught me I
can do anything. I cut, pieced and quilted that. So bring it on. I also made that quilt with some of my dearest
friends, they gave me fabric to use as clams, they encouraged me. They
complimented me and teased me. They brought me starburst and onion dip and diet
coke and wine. Friends are the best aren’t they?

I am not going to tag anyone here. Not because I don’t love
you, but this hop has been going on for a bit and I don’t want to call out
those who have already been called upon. This post is also over a week late.
Woops! If you want to play, by all means! Link your post below; I want to know
what you think. I promise.

I am
sorry if this is a little stream of consciousness and a bit long. I am writing it in a hotel room, I am on a work trip this week. I have barely recovered from my trip to my grandmother’s house and I had a conference all last week. I had a great time visiting with family and colleagues, but I am bone tired from what feels like constantly talking for a week.

I love you all. Thanks for being here, thanks for making it
this far. I give you this cat.

Friday, October 10, 2014

As I write this, I am sitting on a bumpy plane. I am jetting
off to Oklahoma to celebrate my Grandmother’s 85th birthday. My
Grandmother is an amazing person (I am sure your grandmother is too). This lady
grew up in the middle of nowhere, rode a horse to elementary school and then
boarded in town for high school.She
mothered five boys and one girl, who are six of the best Uncles, Aunt, and Dad
a girl could ask for (Hi Aunt Barbara!). She has made to every grandchild’s
wedding so far to be the best cheerleader ever, also, in the case of my
wedding, help make some amazing pies. It has been getting harder for her to
travel, so this weekend we travel to her. It is her turn to get celebrated and
it is going to be a shindig! This woman has over 20 grandchildren and I have
lost count of the great-grandchildren. I cannot wait. Rest assured that I made
her a snuggly lap quilt for her armchair. I can’t wait to show you pictures.

Now that I have blathered on about one of my favorite people
and inspiration, I am going to show you an unrelated finish.

Drumroll please….

My Tangelo!

Some of you (maybe all of you) may know, I am a huge fan of
Carolyn Friedlander. She is an amazing
fabric and pattern designer and just one of the best people a girl could hope
to know. Her patterns inspire me to combine color and texture. They make my
heart sing in their striking, complex simplicity (it is a thing).

I have made it a personal resolution recently to make quilts
for me and to try hard things. Now, when I say quilts for me… I do not actually
mean I am going to keep them all, I mean when I quilt, I want to express myself
just a little, even if it is for someone else. It is the way this is fun for
me.

The Tangelo is for me. Blue is my favorite color. I love
metallic.

This was also a hard thing. It took me nearly six months
(not working constantly, but still). I worked on this quilt during two sewing
weekends with my ladies. Then, I quilted this quilt all over with custom free
motion quilting and used wool batting to make that quilting stand out. Also, it
made this quilt super substantial and comfy). I had to piece the backing with
geese, because a front this complex just needed a little something on the back.

I matched my Aurifil thread to each solid color. Yes, maybe
a little obsessive? But, I need to do what I need to do. I don’t make money at
this, we don’t need any more quilts to physically keep us warm in our home.
What I NEED is to see the picture of colors and patterns I have in my
head come alive.

Welcome to my living room Tangelo. I think I am going to
like seeing you there.

Quilt Stats:

Name: Tangelo by Carolyn Friedlander

Fabric: Whites are from Architextures and Botanics both
designed by Carolyn Friedlander for Robert Kaufman and Dear Stella Confetti
Dots. The blues are assorted Robert Kaufman Kona cottons and Moda Bella solids.
The backing is widescreen in gray by Robert Kaufman with Botanics and scraps
from the front.

Quilting: Custom straight line with my free motion quilting
foot with about six shades of Aurifil thread.

Batting: Quilters Dream Wool

Size: 68" x 72"

P.S. - I got to introduce Carolyn to my Tangelo when she came to North Carolina to teach. This was a high point.

P.P.S. – The quilt is not quite straight in any of these pictures, but I must
defend my quilt holder, this quilt is large and heavy. It far exceeded his
wingspan and he is tall guy… I think I need a new photo set-up for big quilts.

About Me

I am a quilter and sewist living in North Carolina with my husband and cranky cat, Max. I spend my free time surrounding myself with bright colors and making beautiful things. I love rainbows, sparkly things, cooking and eating, wine, and chocolate (not necessarily in that order).